Let them offer their loyalty!

Chapter 225 Discovering the Secret of Zheng Tao and His Wife (10,000 Words for Subscription!)

After all, today Qiu Tu had probed Tan Huimin for hours.

The relationship between Tan Huimin and Zheng Tao was clearly very deep.

But... normally, relationships require cultivation over time. Zheng Tao and Tan Huimin, one living in the Sanctuary, the other previously in the "Disaster Zone," theoretically, should not be able to have such profound interactions.

If Tan Huimin became Zheng Tao's girlfriend only after he moved to Xinjie City, eventually marrying her, then their current pattern of interaction seems somewhat inconsistent.

Tan Huimin obviously regards herself as Zheng Tao's wife, and Zheng Tao also treats her as his own, trusting her immensely.

—This could be seen from Zheng Tao arranging for her to spy on Qiu Tu.

After all, Qiu Tu is younger, more handsome, holds a higher position, and has a broader future as a high-level member of the Investigation Bureau.

If she were just an ordinary girlfriend, with scant emotional attachment, and one who had not even experienced marriage, how could Zheng Tao entrust her with such a sensitive task?

Therefore, having deduced that Tan Huimin was from Xinjie City, Qiu Tu immediately sensed something amiss.

With that thought, Qiu Tu glanced again at Qin Shuman, who was still sound asleep.

Tonight, Qin Shuman was using the body of Yan Chen's mistress; judging by her current state, she must have been too busy for her original self to come.

The genes derived from Yan Chen's wife made this body somewhat resemble Yan Chen's daughter, Yanyan.

Only, perhaps, because one was mature and the other was not.

Thus, Qin Shuman appeared even more glamorous and captivating, unable to hide her radiance even in sleep.

Yanyan, on the other hand, looked very pure and innocent. Coupled with her young age and gentle character, she had the vibe of the girl next door, a middle school beauty.

'White moonlight and red rose?'

Qiu Tu made a silent assessment in his heart before withdrawing his gaze. He then picked up the files of Tan Huimin and Zheng Tao from the bedside table, prepared to review them while Qin Shuman was asleep.

As the intelligence officer of the Security Department, Qin Shuman's information was very comprehensive.

Even just for the Deputy Division Chief and his wife, the files were incredibly detailed.

Holding the files, Qiu Tu walked over to the sofa in the room, sat down, found a comfortable position, and then seriously read through both sets of documents.

After finishing, his brows involuntarily furrowed.

He first closed the files, pondered for a moment, and then reopened them to review the strange details he had noticed before.

Eventually, he sat silently on the sofa with the files, deep in thought...

It was not beyond his expectations. Zheng Tao and Tan Huimin did not meet after the establishment of Xinjie City, but rather... their acquaintance dated back several years.

Before Xinjie City became a Planning Area, the Sanctuary needed to sweep clean the various anti-government armed forces, criminal syndicates, and gangs occupying Xinjie City in advance.

So, they dispatched the then Colonel Ye, now General Ye to station in Xinjie City, clarify the power distribution, and clean out the anti-government armed forces, criminal syndicates, and gangs. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

During this period, the City Hall and the Investigation Bureau both sent people to participate in the operation.

For example, future Deputy Directors Lai Shun and Yu Zhengyi, or future high-ranking officials such as Shi Youxin and Secretary Bai.

It was in this bloody purge that Secretary Bai was injured, nearly died, and was ultimately saved by Qiu Tu.

That led to Qiu Tu later being recruited by Secretary Bai into the Investigation Bureau, being introduced to Yan Chen, and then to sleeping with Qin Shuman among a series of other events.

Besides these future high-ranking officials of Xinjie City, the Investigation Bureau also brought over forty core members to assess the situation in Xinjie City.

Among them... was Zheng Tao.

At that time, Tan Huimin was the only daughter of a small merchant family in Xinjie City, beautiful and well-provided for. Though not extravagantly rich, she was certainly better off than the average household.

She was somewhat similar to the present-day Song Qing or Su Xiaowan.

However, although her father was not a criminal, he was reliant on an underground gang.

This made them fall into a category that could be "cleansed" or spared.

And Zheng Tao was charged with assessing the underground gang and its surrounding forces.

It was during this period that Zheng Tao is suspected to have become acquainted with Tan Huimin.

The files do not clearly state the exact situation at the time, just that after Zheng Tao's evaluation, 90% of those forces associated with the underground syndicate needed to be purged.

Tan Huimin's family was among the remaining 10% that could be preserved.

What followed was a 15-day-long bloody purge.

During this time, many things happened. All the anti-government armed forces, criminal gangs, and their surrounding powers were annihilated.

The old order crumbled, and a new order was under construction. The entire Xinjie City was filled with turmoil and chaos.

Afterward, everything gradually calmed down. Tan Hui Min and her family successfully survived the major crisis.

Just when Zheng Tao and Tan Hui Min thought it was all behind them, one day, suddenly, remnants of a gang arrived at Tan Hui Min's home and carried out a massacre.

Aside from Tan Hui Min, who happened to be out on a date with Zheng Tao, over ten members of Tan Hui Min's family were slaughtered, none spared.

There were no detailed records in the information available about the inner journey of Tan Hui Min and Zheng Tao, nor their reactions.

It was summarized in a very brief sentence, "Two months later, Zheng Tao brought Tan Hui Min back to the Sanctuary under the guise of being relatives."

In the Sanctuary, the two registered their marriage, and Tan Hui Min acquired residence status in the Sanctuary as Zheng Tao's wife.

Subsequently, Zheng Tao returned to Xinjie City in his capacity as a member of the Investigation Bureau Political Department's Interrogation Section.

And Tan Hui Min followed Zheng Tao back to Xinjie City.

Strangely enough, Zheng Tao didn't use official channels to bring Tan Hui Min back to Xinjie City; instead, he made her return to Xinjie City in secrecy.

And using Tan Hui Min's former identity in Xinjie City, during the census and entry of resident information at City Hall, she was given the identity of a resident in a Planning Area.

After that, Zheng Tao secured Tan Hui Min's selection into the Investigation Bureau through his connections and arranged for her to be placed in the Administrative Office.

There were no further records available after this. It's presumed that it's because Tan Hui Min became Zheng Tao's secretary for such a short period of time, the Security Department had not yet had the chance to update the information.

However, the information available was already sufficient for Qiu Tu to detect many suspicions.

The first doubt was... Zheng Tao had registered and married Tan Hui Min in the Sanctuary, yet he didn't bring his wife back to Xinjie City openly and above board, which was quite suspicious already.

The second doubt was... after the great purge, Tan Hui Min's family of over ten met with a tragic massacre. With no remaining family, Tan Hui Min could return to the Sanctuary with Zheng Tao.

Given what Qiu Tu knew about Zheng Tao, he couldn't help but suspect there was some inside story.

As for other details, although Qiu Tu hadn't spotted any problems for the moment, something still felt odd...

Especially considering that before Zheng Tao's promotion, their relationship was average but not hostile; however, after the promotion, Zheng Tao suddenly began to target him as if obsessed.

Qiu Tu couldn't help but overthink it.

If Zheng Tao previously sought to steal his credit to show loyalty to Yan Chen,

now, planting his wife as a spy by his side was definitely crossing the line.

This was definitely not Yan Chen's style.

From what Qiu Tu knew about Yan Chen, he might be treacherous, ruthless, suspicious, and vengeful,

but... he wouldn't use such despicable means against an ant like him.

Yan Chen preferred using a subtle move to guide the situation and create a tsunami to crush his enemies.

And this method of using one's wife as a spy and leveraging temptation made Qiu Tu think more and more it resembled....

'Larilo!?'

At the thought of this name, Qiu Tu suddenly snapped awake.

He felt there might be some plausibility in his analysis.

After all, Larilo always seemed particularly fond of using the Beauty Trap, espionage, and seduction as tactics.

Even if they couldn't obtain information, leading someone to Degeneration seemed to bring her special joy!

It was like having some strange fetish.

Now, Zheng Tao willingly placed his wife by his side, setting him up for slander in the Melon Field, and making him develop feelings for Zheng Tao's wife through daily interaction, ultimately leading to Degeneration.

It was just too reminiscent of Larilo's approach!

With this thought, Qiu Tu suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

He quickly flipped open the files to take another look.

Because if Zheng Tao truly was a follower of Larilo, or arranged by Larilo, then it's highly likely he would have been in contact with Larilo years ago, not just recently.

And the high-level figure who could help him get promoted and arrange for his wife to be placed in the Investigation Bureau must be the Larilo devotee hidden among the high ranks of the Investigation Bureau, and probably also one of the senior officials who went to Xinjie City with Zheng Tao back then!

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